Community Doesn’t Scale — Soho House, MiniClubs & The Future of Social Interaction
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When I moved to NYC two years ago I joined Soho House. I had spent the last 7+ years living in San Francisco where there wasn’t any real tradition of social clubs, and I had spent a lot of time in London (though never lived there), which was the opposite, so I was excited to be part of one as an actual member. Plus, I heard the pool was quite the scene in the summer.
I was sorely disappointed. On acceptance I was given no onboarding. I realized it was basically a glorified co-working space during the day (and admit, that’s basically how I came to use it as well). No one seemed particularly interested in meeting people — it mainly seemed a way to show off to potential people young creative freelancers were trying to close that they were indeed hip enough to be a member.
My Soho House membership was, in short, a fashion accessory — you could get most of the same amenities in various other places, but you paid the premium for the same reason you pay…
